An ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) is a semiconductor device designed for a particular application. ASICs may include virtually any collection of circuits known. For example, they are used in consumer memory devices such as those used with cameras, music players, navigation devices and the like. They are also used in many other types of electronic devices and may be highly specialized to a particular task or set of tasks.
An ASIC core is a defined function to be performed by circuitry which has been designed and verified as a standalone entity and is available in an ASIC function library for a particular process technology. Each ASIC core is an element whose performance and function are understood and which can be, essentially, used as a building block in constructing an ASIC chip design. An ASIC core may be implemented as a function plus a predefined physical layout or standard cell, a function plus a physical layout to be implemented by the ASIC vendor, or as a function embodied in a standard technology-dependent gate-level net list to be fully integrated by the customer.
ASIC cores, when implemented as real circuits, require regulated power in order to operate. Typically they are powered by one of the available various regulator technologies depending upon the needs of the circuit. For example, for applications requiring extremely low quiescent and active operating current but which can tolerate the use of an external (i.e., relatively large) capacitor, a linear (e.g., low dropout (LDO)) regulator is highly suitable. Such an approach is used, for example, in micro secure digital (SD) memory cards and is illustrated in bock diagram form in FIG. 1. On the other and, if board space (or other physical space) is at a premium and higher quiescent and active operating currents are tolerable, then a capless regulator having no external capacitor may be a better solution. This situation is often encountered in high-end memory card applications (e.g., Memory Stick-type Flash memory cards, and the like) and is illustrated in block diagram form in FIG. 2.
The design, validation and construction of ASIC chips represents a significant investment for an electronic product manufacturer. It would be desirable to reduce such costs to the extent possible.